Jury to deliberate sentence for Texas woman who pleaded guilty in DWI crash that killed police officer

Lindsay Smith, 26. Photo: Austin Police Department

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The trial continues Thursday for a woman who was arrested and charged with intoxication manslaughter after a 2022 crash left an officer dead in north Austin.

According to prosecutors and defense attorneys, Lindsay Smith pleaded guilty earlier this week and “took responsibility” for the crash. Jurors are now hearing testimony and will deliberate and decide what sentence Smith will serve.

The crash killed 35-year-old Poteet Police Officer Jeffrey Richardson. He was off-duty and working lane closures in north Austin on June 29, 2022, when the crash occurred, according to an affidavit. Poteet is south of San Antonio.

The crash happened on the northbound service road of the MoPac Highway near The Domain around 2 a.m. Police said a car drove through a barricade and struck Richardson. In a body camera video played in court Wednesday, Smith administered a field sobriety test, telling an APD officer that she had two drinks at a restaurant and four martinis at two different bars. The policeman asked her if she had been beaten. In the video, Smith responds that she did but doesn't remember how many. The officer who testified as administering the field sobriety test said she was “disoriented” and “cussy.”

The prosecution rested Wednesday and defense attorneys called a witness before the end of the day. The defense's first witness was Katie Harris, the court probation officer assigned to the case. Defense attorneys questioned Harris about the benefits of probation for some people.

According to legal experts not connected to the case, the Texas penal code states that the sentencing range for the offense involved in Smith's case is 5 years to life.

The district attorney's office recused itself from the start of this case, according to court records. Instead, prosecutors in the county attorney's office work on the case on behalf of the state.

'I felt like I was trapped in a movie, and it wasn't my life,' says Richardson's family

Richardson's brother Joe, his father Allan and his wife Silvia spoke Wednesday to share their fondest memories of Jeffrey, as well as their experiences the day Jeffrey died.

Joe, a firefighter, went first. He spoke about his childhood with Jeffrey and their three other siblings. Joe was working as a firefighter when he heard about Jeffrey's accident and said he self-assigned himself to the call. On the stand, he explained how he made it a point that evening to go and tell the rest of his family in person what had happened to Jeffrey.

Jeffrey's father, Allan, spoke about how much Jeffrey loved his five children.

Allan called Jeffrey a perfectionist, resilient, loving and successful.

“He could fail today and tomorrow I could talk to him and he would have 10 new projects,” Allan said.

Both Allan and Joe talked about how romantic Jeffrey was.

His wife Silvia was the last family member to testify. Her testimony began with a discussion about how she and Jeffrey met. Prosecutors showed him photos from his wedding day.

Silvia told the jury what it was like in the hospital the day Jeffrey died.

“I felt like I was trapped in a movie, and it wasn't my life,” she said, adding that having to talk to her children about what happened felt “like someone was stabbing me over and over again.” [with] this kind of pain.

Testimony is expected to conclude Thursday. Once this is done, the jurors will begin deliberating on the sentence.